The present invention generally relates to golf clubs and more particularly to a golf club head having improved weight distributions which increase important moments of inertia of the club head, said club head also having a vibration dampening insert which attenuates vibrations generated at impact between the club head and a golf ball.
Club heads employing various types of perimeter weighting have become quite common in the art, especially iron club heads or "irons" having so-called "cavity back" designs. In these club heads, weight is in effect removed from the center of the club head and redistributed along the bottom of the club head, for example, or along the heel and toe portions of the club head, or around the entire periphery of the club head to produce a club head having a recess or cavity in the back. Club heads of the latter type have enjoyed considerable success since they effectively enlarge the "sweet spot" of the club head.
The "sweet spot" of the club head is generally regarded to be that area on the striking face of the club head immediately surrounding the center of gravity of the club head. By enlarging the sweet spot, perimeter weighted club heads allow golfers of all abilities to realize improved results over conventional club heads when the golfer fails to strike the golf ball in line with the center of gravity of the club head. These improved results translate into mis-hit shots that travel farther and straighter than they would if struck with a club having another conventional club head design.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,914 describes, in part, a golf club head having a weight member projecting outwardly from an angular segment of the periphery of the hosel which is less than 360.degree.. As a result of the redistribution of weight on the hosel above the center of gravity, the moments of inertia of the club head about both the horizontal axis "x" and the vertical axis "y" extending through the center of gravity of the club head are advantageously increased. Increasing the moment of inertia about the horizontal axis stabilizes the club head at impact and increases energy transfer between the golf ball and the club face when the golf ball impacts the club face above or below the center of gravity of the club head. Increasing the moment of inertia about the vertical axis likewise stabilizes the club head at impact and increases energy transfer between the golf ball and the club face when the golf ball impacts the club face to the left or right of the center of gravity of the club head.
Simultaneously, the redistribution of the weight on the hosel closer to the axis of the shaft reduces the inertia through the shaft axis which helps the club "close" at impact more efficiently than if the weight were distributed in a more conventional manner. An "open" club at impact results in slices, one of the most common mis-hits, while a more "closed" club at impact is more advantageous in terms of hitting straighter shots or even hooking the ball.